My first in-hospital rotation was general surgery- talk about scary! One of the most daunting things about a hospital rotation is figuring out how to get around the hospital. I cannot get into the groove of a rotation until I stop wandering around the hospital trying to figure out where I’m going. BUT, once I accomplished that, I was surprised to really enjoy this rotation!

I was DREADING surgery. I didn’t want the stress of scrubbing in and being sterile, I had no clue what to do in the OR, and I had learned little to nothing about actual surgical procedures up until this point. I am so thankful that the team I was with was so supportive and helpful, and the OR teams always helped me so much!

A typical day in general surgery starts VERY early. Depending on the residents I was with, I would get to the hospital between 5:45 and 6:15. I was usually assigned a handful of patients to be the “expert” on, and I would review their chart and go to check on them before the rest of the team arrived. Then, we would pre-round on all of our patients, and I would present my patients to the resident. Afterward, we would discuss all of the patients with the attending(s) and decide on a plan for the day. Then, we would formally round on all the patients with the attending and inform the patients of the plan. This is where the bulk of the medicine happens!

Afterward, I would be responsible for writing the progress notes for my patients. I was with two medical students on this rotation, so we would all take turns scrubbing in on the surgeries. I mainly saw cholecystectomies (gall bladder removal) and appendectomies during my time in general surgery, which I didn’t mind! Participating in these procedures involved scrubbing in, following sterile procedure, helping to prep the patient, driving the laparoscope so that the surgeons could see inside the belly, helping to close the patient, and helping transport them to the PACU. Most of the surgeries were 2-3 hours long, which was perfect for me! I really like the processes of the OR and it was interesting to be a part of the surgeries, but I would not want to be in the OR for much longer than a few hours. 

The rest of the day consisted of writing notes, seeing any new patients that arrived in the ER or as a transfer from the other hospital, and checking up on anything we ordered for our patients that morning. As a student, I usually got to leave between 2:30 and 6, which always depended on what was going on that day and when the work was done! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my general surgery rotation (which is not a popular opinion lol). I liked the diversity of hospital rounding, medicine work, OR, and clinic, and I loved that you can (most of the time) definitively fix a person’s problem and send them home better than when they came!